Minnesota and Iowa Update Drug Testing Laws – What Employers Need to Know
Minnesota and Iowa have recently changed their drug testing laws, and employers in both states may need to adjust their policies to stay compliant. While Minnesota has strengthened protections for medical cannabis patients, Iowa has taken steps to make compliance easier for employers.
Minnesota: Stronger Protections for Medical Cannabis Patients
Minnesota’s legislature has passed its third consecutive cannabis bill, which mainly focuses on the upcoming recreational cannabis market but also makes important changes for employers. These updates affect how companies can act when job applicants or employees use medical cannabis. The law is already in effect.
1. Written Notice Before Certain Actions
Since 2014, Minnesota law has prohibited employers from discriminating against someone simply because they are registered in the state’s medical cannabis program or test positive for cannabis on a drug test. Employers can still take action if doing otherwise would violate federal or state laws or cause them to lose federal funding or licenses.
Now, if an employer relies on those exceptions, they must give the affected medical cannabis patient at least 14 days’ written notice before refusing to hire, firing, or taking other negative actions. The notice must clearly explain which law or regulation the employer would break—or what federal benefit they would lose—if they did not take the action.
2. Protection Against Retaliation
The new law also bans retaliation against medical cannabis patients for asserting their rights or seeking legal remedies.
3. Higher Penalties
If an employer violates these protections, a patient can sue for damages or receive a statutory penalty—now increased from $100 to $1,000—plus attorney’s fees. Patients can also seek court orders (injunctions) to enforce certain rules, including the new notice and retaliation protections. However, it’s unclear whether damages and penalties apply to violations of the new rules, as the law does not specifically address this.
4. Recognition of Tribal Medical Cannabis Programs
Protections now apply to patients enrolled in both Minnesota’s state registry and recognized Tribal medical cannabis programs. This ensures that Tribal program participants have the same employment protections.
Iowa: Easier Compliance for Employers
Iowa has also updated its drug testing law to address practical issues and court decisions that made compliance challenging. These changes, effective immediately, simplify communication requirements and clarify employer and employee responsibilities.
1. Flexible Delivery of Notices
Previously, Iowa required employers to send positive test results to employees only by certified mail. Now, employers can deliver required notices in person or electronically, if the employee agrees. This applies to notices sent to employees, job applicants, and parents of minors being tested.
Requests for a second confirmatory test must now be made in writing—either by certified mail, electronically, or in person—within the required timeframe, along with payment and lab details.
2. Employer Control Over Safety-Sensitive Positions
Employers can now decide which jobs are “safety-sensitive,” meaning a role where an accident could cause death, serious injury, or major property/environmental damage. This makes it important for employers to clearly identify such positions in advance.
3. Clarified Burdens of Proof
In lawsuits, employees must now prove that a violation directly caused their damages. The law also removes the previous rule requiring employers to prove compliance, which had made defending cases harder—especially for random drug testing procedures.
4. Modified Civil Remedies
Only employers—not individual managers—can now be sued for violations. Successful plaintiffs can recover only reasonable attorney’s fees and court costs.
Bottom Line
Minnesota’s new rules make it harder for employers to take action against medical cannabis patients without following strict notice procedures. Employers using federal law or funding exceptions must give detailed written explanations and 14 days’ warning before acting.
In contrast, Iowa’s updates make compliance easier by allowing flexible notice delivery, clarifying responsibilities in legal disputes, and protecting individual managers from lawsuits.
Given the legal risks and increased litigation in this area, employers in both states should review their drug testing policies and consult legal experts to ensure compliance.
